So, it definitely took me longer than intended to get this second chapter posted. I wasn't 100% sure where I was going with it, I'm still not but here we go.

Chapter 2

She couldn't figure out where it was the dreadful stiffness in her neck that had woken her, or the constant beeping from the machines that surrounded Henry. Gently releasing her son's hand she pushed herself backwards into the chair and stretched out her muscles. Opening her eyes she was hoping for a small miracle, Whale had explained to her and Emma last night that the recovery process was going to be slow, but they had got through the night, and that was the first hurdle they had to face.

Reaching across the bed her hands touched Emma's. They lingered there for a moment longer than they should have done. She had been so angry last night, but she knew Emma wouldn't have ever done anything to put Henry in harms way.

"Morning." The blonde's voice was rough, partly full of morning, and partly Regina suspected due to all of the tears that she had spent the night crying.

"I guess I've slept in worse places." Regina tried to stretch again, the annoying pain down her neck refusing to ease.

"Are you joking? I've seen the pictures of your palace." Emma let out a small laugh. Partly at how ridiculous she found the statement, and partly at the light relief her and the older woman had found is such a horrible place.

"Not all the time Miss Swan. Don't forget the strained relationship my mother and I endured. You can't be surprised that I spent more than one night in my childhood outdoors having run away again." Regina wasn't sure what it was about the younger woman that made her relax, but she found herself sharing more with her than she had in a long time.

"Figures I guess." Emma knew there was so much more below the surface that the brunette didn't even want to touch on. "I was thinking we should take shifts…" Emma paused. "Then I realised that I don't think I can leave him." She swallowed as her voice became thick. She had only just got her son back. The irony behind the situation that she currently found herself in seemed more than cruel.

"Remember what Whale said. He needed to get through the night, and then they could start running more tests. They'll know more once they've been able to spend more time looking through the results." Regina had been hanging on to the words through the broken sleep she had managed in the night. She had always had a tendency for nightmares, and the current situation was doing nothing to help that.

"I know, part of me doesn't want to know. What if they find something that they can't fix? This is all my fault Regina. What if they can't fix our boy?" This time even swallowing multiple times couldn't stop the tears from falling down the side of her face.

"Emma don't." Regina wasn't ready to go another round with Emma, and she knew how guilty the blonde was feeling, she had spent enough of her life feeling bad for all of the things she had done to hurt Henry.

"Why not? Off I went, the Saviour. Of course I thought that I could stop her, I didn't even think about the possibility of Henry getting hurt. It was all about me, being able to prove to you that I could do it. I didn't need you to protect Henry because I could do it all on my own." Emma shook her head slight. "Look how that turned out."

"Why on earth would you feel like you needed to prove anything to me Emma? You're the Saviour. You were bought to this town to break my curse! Don't you think that would already give you an advantage over me in looking after him?"

"Regina, you had this sussed for 10 years. You raised him, and made him into the strong and independent young boy that he's become." Emma couldn't help but see the funny side of this, that the most desperate of circumstances were bring their true feelings out.

"Emma, he came to find you. He thought, rightly that I was the Evil Queen, and he thought that he was in danger. Don't you see how that might dent ones confidence when it comes to the ability to parent."

"But look at you now, and how the tables would turn. Anyone looking in at this situation would definitely pick you as being the responsible parent." Emma had realised that she was still crying, and no matter how many times she swatted at her face the tears wouldn't stop.

Regina pushed herself up from the chair, and without thinking ahead to any of her actions she moved around to Emma and gently lifted the younger woman from her chair and into a hug. Whatever she had expected from her actions, it certainly wasn't for the younger woman to start howling into her arms. As she started rubbing what she hoped were soothing circles on her back she felt the blondes shaking start to lessen slightly. "He's going to be ok Emma. He's going to wake up, and no matter how long it takes we will be a family again."

Regina stopped for a moment rethinking the words that had just left her mouth. She hadn't thought them through, it was just what had come to mind.

Emma moved slightly to look up to Regina. "What are we doing? We go so far forward and then one of us does something to screw up. The kid doesn't know whether he's coming or going." Moving out of Regina's arms she gave her hand a quick squeeze before walking towards the door. "I'm going to get Whale, hopefully he's got some answers about where we are going next." Quietly the blonde slipped from the room.

Regina watched her go before walking back round to her original side of the bed. "Hey baby boy." She reached across and started sweeping the stray hairs back across his face. "I don't know whether you heard any of that, but I think it's progress. Emma and I are going to work together to help you get better. I promise."

The door to the room opened and Emma came back in with Whale. "Well it's 6am, so we are nearly out of the woods ladies." He walked over to make a small adjustment on one of the machines before continuing. "A couple more hours and we can start running the tests, I believe that he is going to need surgery, but I am hopeful that we can limit the numbers." He marked some numbers off on the chart. "I would suggest that you both try and get some rest, there's still a long road ahead."